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Topic: How to stop killing bees. (Read 3248 times)

I have fought this problem all year. Every time I open up a hive to inspect, I kill bees during reassembly. I'm talking even putting the frames back in. When I replace the framec I insert them in the opening then slide them over. I use a small stick like a toung depresser to try to chase the bees from between the end bars but that doesn't always work. Bees get crushed when I replace the hive bodies. I move slow try yo give them time but always kill a few. Is there some techniques I could learn to prevent this? I have tried the bee brush, extra smoke and nothing seems to really work. The brush makes things worse. Lots of extra smoke can make them all hang out of the hive for a while. I did search for the answer before I posted.

Do you wear gloves? Try to give them up if possible. When removing frames do you start at one side, removing an outside one and placing it aside until after inspection? That will give you room to move things around, you could even remove both outside frames, which allows "plenty" of room.

Extra smoke will just tick them off. Less is always better than more. If you are calm your bees s/b calm also, unless there is some other factor.

I wouldn't try to move bees around w/ a stick, your bare (or gloved) fingers used gently will move them around just fine. It takes some practice but well worth it for you and your bees.

That all said; we all kill bees from time to time, some a 'lot' more than others :( Whenever anyone asks me "what's killing the bees" I can only respond w/; we are killing them.

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"Trust those who seek the truth, doubt those who say they've found it."

Really great responses from all. Thanks. I will try to slow down some more. I really hate the crunching noise that says I just mashed a few of my charges. The grass for a brush is something I hadn't thought of as well as the placing the hive bodies at an angle then rotating them in. My bees are pretty calm. I have tried different amounts of smoke and have found that less is more. For a brush I once saw a video from the German IWF institute that showed a woman using a white duck or goose wing. Looked like the feathers didn't upset the bees near as much as my artificial one. I use the blue nitrile gloves with cotton liners to soak up sweat. I have gone without them and can do so again.Again thanks I really appreciate the help.

When harvesting honey I use a long turkey feather to remove bees from the frames before placing them in a honey super. Never been stung once using a feather this way, but I'm not agreesive, just use gentle strokes.

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"Trust those who seek the truth, doubt those who say they've found it."

I like T Beeks open feeding this time of year. X:X Most all of that feed is going to go to your own bees when the temps are in the 50F (10C) range. I don’t believe bees are going to fly 3 miles in November to steal some open feed in our cool temps. No yellow jackets this time of year. I figure open feeding them during a warm spell (like today) is just a little extra insurance for winter.

If the situation ever gets a bit frantic, and a bit like herding cats - then a quick squirt with a fine mist spray (plain water) always ensures that they get their heads down.

LJ[/quote]I had to laugh that is exactly what it feels like when they get all stirred up. I chase them away but they come back in even larger numbers. Frustrating to say the least. Gets even worse if one gets crushed as you replace a frame. Just plane water. Will add that to the list. Thanks Lj

In a 5 gal bucket I'll mix up to 3 gal of 2-1 or 3-1 syrup placed 100 yards from beeyard. I believe BlueBee has had success placing them a bit closer and 'this' time of year is a good time as said, there is little competition right now.

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"Trust those who seek the truth, doubt those who say they've found it."

Wow. You allow twenty stings per visit d.......... while I was twenty feet away and decided to requeen........

may bee calculation error if you suppose that every hive give me 20 stings.30 years ago I had German Black mongrells. They were bad and every hive gove more stings than I can calculate.

That bad hives are rare, but almost every year I have a bad ass.

I requeen every year my queens. So I am quite far in spring when workers of new queen shows their style. I have spare queens to change bad asses but it takes a half summer that I get rid off stinging those workers.

I keep my new queens in 3 frame mating nucs quite long to see their sensitiveness to diseases, laying capacity and will to sting.

it is quite a job to eliminate defensive genes from genepool. They come soon back without continuous selection.

We always have some collateral damage when playing with hives. A lot of collateral damage can be saddening, but on a good day there is very little collateral damage at all. If there is a big crunching sound when replacing a super, we generally say, "Oops, there goes another collateral".

If the situation ever gets a bit frantic, and a bit like herding cats - then a quick squirt with a fine mist spray (plain water) always ensures that they get their heads down.

LJ

I had to laugh that is exactly what it feels like when they get all stirred up. I chase them away but they come back in even larger numbers. Frustrating to say the least. Gets even worse if one gets crushed as you replace a frame. Just plane water. Will add that to the list. Thanks Lj

Hi Ray

When I first heard about using a 'water spray', being a cheapskate I initially used a well cleaned-out hand sprayer from the supermarket - the disposable sort used for bathroom cleaner/ window cleaner etc. Ok, so those cost nothing, but I found the spray was too coarse and it put far too much water onto the girls. I then bought a hand sprayer from the garden centre - the type which is used for spraying plant foliage with - this puts out a very fine mist which I find is perfect for the job. My drill now is to use a whiff of smoke before and during first opening the hive, but to use water spray thereafter - finding that water mist doesn't annoy the bees as much as smoke does, if a lot of time needs to be spent working in the hive.

Apparently, some folks employ these hand sprayers - adding a bit of 1:1 syrup, a dash of honey, or a few drops of an essential oil to the water - when combining colonies of bees. Never done this myself - may play with these ideas next year.

Just some feed back... The suggestions worked. Slow down on frame insertion, slow down in general, set bodies at an angle and rotate slowly and use fine water spray to make them duck. Lot fewer killings. Thanks to all. :)